  |
This article's content is marked as Mature Ken Kaneki contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature articles are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | I’m not the protagonist of a novel or anything. I’m just a college student who likes to read, like you could find anywhere. But... if, for argument’s sake, you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be... a tragedy. | „ |
| ~ Ken Kaneki. |
Ken Kaneki (in Japanese: 金木 研, Kaneki Ken), also known as the Black Reaper and the One-Eyed King, is the main protagonist of the Tokyo Ghoul franchise.
Ken was a normal college student until his encounter with Rize Kamishiro left him transformed into a Ghoul. Following this, he would become a member of Anteiku, a small neighborhood cafe run by Yoshimura, that serve as a safe haven for Ghouls.
He lived under the identity of Haise Sasaki, as a Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator, serving as the mentor of the CCG's Quinx Squad and a member of Team Mado. His memories were initially lost to him, but regained during the Tsukiyama Family Extermination Operation.
Although being the main protagonist, Kaneki gradually becomes more of an anti-hero, ending up committing a variety of terrible acts over the course of the series as his more ruthless and troubled personality traits show themselves.
He was voiced by Natsuki Hanae in the Japanese version, and Austin Tindle in the English version.
Overview[]
Ken Kaneki is a first year college student, and after narrowly surviving a Ghoul Attack finds himself transformed into a Human-Ghoul hybrid after a medical procedure. He struggles to find a balance between his two natures, and is taken in by the moderate organization Anteiku. In the climax, Anteiku is raided by the CCG, and Kaneki's fate is left unclear after facing the CCG's ace Kishou Arima in a duel.
After working under the CCG as Haise Sasaki, he eventually regains his past memories and becomes Ken Kaneki once more. Unable to deal with his feelings of guilt, Kaneki eventually betrays CCG to save his imprisoned friend, Hinami, and then goes to fight his mentor, Arima, in hopes of commiting Suicide by Cop. However, during an ordeal, Kaneki realizes he wants to live, and after unlocking the full potential of his kagune defeats Arima.
Arima reveals he had been hoping for this from the start, proceeding to slit his own throat and explain that he was the One-Eyed King and Eto's mole in CCG, but needed a successor due to being a half-human hybrid suffering from increased age. Per Arima's final wish, Kaneki takes responsibility for Arima's death and the title of One-Eyed King, to become a Hope Bringer to all those victimized by the Washuu clan.
Personality[]
At the beginning of the story, Ken Kaneki is a kind, benevolent and at times naive person. Even after the horrific incident with Rize and being a ghoul Kaneki still manages to hold those same traits. This all begins to change after his torture at Yamori's hands. Kaneki becomes ruthless and cold-hearted towards his enemies. He even kills another ghoul for the first time in is life. He is still shown as kind and caring towards his friend but, can change in a heartbeat to those he doesn't trust.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Ghoul Physiology: After the Steel Beam Incident, Kaneki transformed into an artificial one-eyed ghoul, developing ghoul powers and abilities after receiving Rize's kakuhou. He struggled to control his powers, due to his mental state, and started off as being rather weak. Overtime, however, he has learned how to control them and eventually surpass his opponents.
- Rinkaku Kagune: Kaneki received a rinkaku kagune, after having Rize's kakuhou transplanted inside of him. He initially had trouble adapting to using to them, but was fully able to make good use of them once he fought Yamori. Kaneki's rinkaku has changed throughout the series, in which he's been to grow more tendrils and they would develop different visuals to them, depending on the amount of humans and ghouls he's consumed. His kagune has also developed unique abilities as he was recently able to develop a sword in the shape of his quinque from his kagune.
- Rinkaku Kakuja: Ever since his first consumption from the ghoul, Yamori, Kaneki has developed a rinkaku kakuja, which has went through various changes from the amount of other kakujas he's consumed. In addition to this, his kakuja has developed into becoming stronger and more powerful than before.
- Superhuman Strength: Kaneki seems to have a high-level degree of superhuman strength due to Kaneki, ability to lift heavy things. And survive when fell into a rock or a hard concrete wall.
- Superhuman Mobility: Kaneki has developed speed that surpasses humans. His speed allows him to blitz through large groups of opponents in a matter of short time. Very few people have been to rival with and surpass his speed and those that do are usually half-human and half-ghoul hybrids such as Furuta, Arima, Takizawa and Eto.
- High-Level Pain Immunity: Kaneki has developed a large resistance to pain, ever since his transformation into a ghoul. While he can still be injured, he has taken injuries that can be considered fatal, such as having his limbs sliced off, his eyes stabbed out completely and more.
- High-Level Pain Tolerance: Ever since he was tortured, Keneki was able to handle a lot of pain without showing signs of pain such as when Yakumo Oomori twisted his leg, breaking it but Keneki was still able to kick him.
- Supernatural Regeneration: Kaneki inherited this power to Rize Kamishiro due to Kamishiro's ability to regenerate faster to avoid death. He has been to regenerate both massive wounds done to him, as well as limbs. He initially had difficulty regenerating certain parts of his body, as his arms were not fully healed when they were cut off by Arima, but after his experience as the Dragon, he was able to fully regenerate them.
Abilities[]
- High Intelligence: Kaneki is an extremely intelligent person. Most his knowledge comes from his fixation on reading books. He has also been able to connect reality with the novels he reads from Sen Takasuki. He is also cunningly smart and tactical when in combat, which is one of the few reasons why the CCG looks at him as an impressive ghoul investigator.
- Martial Arts: Kaneki is extremely aggressive fighter due to his ghoul physiology and always reading about martial arts and other defensive skills. He is an excellent combatant when it comes to swordsmanship, as Arima trained him well and noted his improvements.
Equipment[]
- Eyepatch Mask: Kaneki's iconic ghoul mask, made and given by Uta. He wears this mask whenever he is in combat with ghoul investigators, as well as to hide his identity. It is designed with an eyepatch that covers his regular eye, while his ghoul eye is left exposed.
- Yukimara 1/3: Sasaki's personal quinque weapon, which he received from Arima. It is a long-bladed weapon that can cut through ghouls easily.
Trivia[]
- In the anime, Kaneki joins the Aogiri Tree.
- Kaneki ranked second in character popularity with his Haise Sasaki persona being third.
External Links[]
- Ken Kaneki on the Villains Wiki.
- Ken Kaneki on the Tokyo Ghoul Wiki.
[]
 Heroes
| ||
|
Protagonist Aogiri Tree C.C.G. Quinx Squad Tsukiyama Family Goat | ||
